Facebook Anti-Trafficking Partner to Host 33 Walk/Run to 'Stop Child Trafficking Now'

SCTNow's success is entirely dependent on walkers/runners, sponsors, and volunteers involved in raising funds in local communities all over the United States.

Human trafficking is one of the world's biggest problems.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Today, non-profit organization Stop Child Trafficking Now (SCTNow) announced plans for its 3rd annual National Walk Run Campaign. The public event is part of a national campaign taking "steps" toward freedom in more than 33 communities in the United States and Canada.

SCTNow's unique approach to anti-trafficking positions specially trained former law enforcement and military operatives to bring to justice the predators fueling the sex trafficking industry. Operatives deliver vital intelligence to law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Department of Homeland Security, enabling criminal cases against the predators who drive the $32 billion industry. Success rates are high with more than 1,000 child predators identified by SCTNow operatives in the last 16 months.

"Without the buyer there will be no sex industry. We tackle demand because it deals with the root of the issue," states Lynette Lewis, Founder of SCTNow. Such focus on the predator falls directly into the United Nations' "3P" response to trafficking, as outlined in the 2010 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report: prevention, criminal prosecution and victim protection.

In 2011, SCTNow became the strategic anti-trafficking partner of Facebook, scavenging the social-media site for indications of trafficking, forced labor and child exploitation.

"Since last year, we have partnered with SCTNow to coordinate our resources and cast a wider safety net for those online," says Facebook spokesman Frederick Wolens.

Funds raised enable the prosecution of child predators through SCTNow's multi-phase plan, which includes worldwide deployment of Special Operative teams, gathering of digital evidence by SCTNow's Cyber Team, and the funding of partner anti-trafficking nonprofits that specialize in other facets of the trafficking epidemic.In 2010, 10,000 walkers in more than 30 communities of Canada and Australia, raised over $500,000. To date, SCTNow Walks have raised over $1 million to stop child trafficking.

SCTNow's success is entirely dependent on walkers/runners, sponsors, and volunteers involved in raising funds in local communities all over the United States.

To register as a walker, sponsor, or volunteer for one of the 33 national events please visit the SCTNow website at www.sctnow.org. Or for more information contact the SCTNow Walk Offices at 212-333-SCTN (7286)

Human trafficking is the smuggling and sale of humans as sex and labor slaves who often face beatings, intolerable living conditions, starvation and forced prostitution. The FBI says human trafficking takes not only a "personal and psychological toll on society ... but also facilitates the illegal movement of immigrants across borders and provides a ready source of income for organized crime groups and even terrorists" (fbi.gov).

SCTNow is a 501c3 not-for-profit charitable corporation, incorporated in the State of New York under the name Strategic Global Initiatives. All financial operations are handled transparently and with the utmost accountability. All donor contributions and financial records are reviewed by the certified public accounting firm of Heveron & Hevron PC. SCTNow is also represented by Hogan Lovells, ranked one of the top 20 law firms in the world, with more than 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices worldwide. SCTNow is registered under GuideStar Charity Check.